Seneca Looks Toward Third Straight Sectional
Amboy Next On Irish State March
By Bill Lidinsky
For the third consecutive season the Seneca High School varsity boys basketball team will compete for an IHSA Class A sectional championship.
This year the four team playoff will be held at Plano High School with the Irish drawing the second semifinal game that will tip off Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. against Amboy.
Seneca (27-2) advanced to the sectional with a 49-37 regional championship victory over Ottawa-Marquette last Friday night at home, while Amboy (20-7) knocked off Mendota 65-56 on the Trojans home court to capture the Clippers first regional crown since 1997. It was the last 20 win team that Amboy produced before this season, and coincidentally the Clippers then moved on to their last sectional appearance as well which was held also at Plano.
“Last Friday we got our 20 th win and won the regional championship all in one night,” said Amboy head basketball coach Mike McCraken. “We enjoyed the celebration at Mendota and look forward to going back to Plano this year for another sectional battle against a great team in Seneca.”
McCraken is a veteran coach of 16 varsity seasons with a record of 234-195. He was the Clippers head man back in 97 and likens his team of 07 to the one of ten seasons ago.
“We have very balanced scoring like we did back then and we shoot the ball pretty well at 45 percent,” McCraken said. “We’ve got some decent size, so we also rebound effectively also. Overall, we play pretty good team basketball.”
In this McCraken’s last season as Amboy’s head coach, the Clippers have three players averaging in double digit scoring.
6’1” junior guard Travis Nauman (13.9 ppg) leads Amboy on the year, while 6’3” senior forward Garrett Zinke (13.5 ppg) and 6’ 3” senior forward Derek Lovgren (13.4 ppg) follow closely behind. Zinke also heads the Clippers in rebounding with nine boards per contest.
Amboy also places another 6’3” senior along their front line. Alex Jones (5.6 ppg) anchors the center position, while 5’11” junior guard Anthony Wells (4.7 ppg) rounds out the Clippers starting five.
“Coach McCraken has a fine squad. They shoot the ball well and play very aggressively on defense. They’re a solid club that has great balance with their inside-outside game,” said Seneca head basketball coach Doug Evans.
Amboy hails from the tough Three Rivers Conference where they finished third with a 9-5 record behind Riverdale and Morrison. They’re similar in style to a very familiar Interstate Eight Conference foe of the Irish.
“They remind me of Lisle from our conference that they all go about the same size from 5”11 to 6’3”,” Evans said. “They have a lot of flexibility on both offense and defense. Lisle was a lot like that in our league this year.”
Wednesday’s winner will take on the victor of tonight’s first sectional semifinal at Plano between Serena and Putnam County. The sectional championship game is scheduled for Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
Sophomore Seth Evans (15.4 ppg) and senior Griffan Callahan (15.1 ppg) will lead the way for the Irish as Seneca looks to capture their third straight sectional crown in as many years.
“We’re excited to be in the sectionals again. We’ve never played Amboy so we’re really excited to get over to Plano and get going,” Evans said. “We know we’re in a very good sectional and are very happy to have the opportunity to compete with three other very fine teams. I think it’s going to be a pretty exciting sectional series.”